Though this film moves at a crawling pace at more than one point, it keeps your interest, even though you know exactly how it ends. I normally despise westerns, but I heard nothing but praise for this film, and especially Casey Affleck, so I put my feelings aside for a while. I really wish it wasn't as long as it was. I understand it was attempting to establish mood, and suspense. It does succeed, for the most part, but truly, if it wasn't for the wonderful performances, it would be an utterly bland snooze-fest.

The feel and look of the film reminds you of a constantly moving photograph, straight from another century. It really is gorgeous. The musical score is virtually the same throughout the entire movie, but it is effective. It sets the perfect mood. It feels ominous and fits seamlessy with this film.

If it wasn't nearly 3 hours long, it would have been a masterfully perfect movie, one that doesn't come around that often. There is not much backstory, except with snippets of voiceover, but it is enough that we know who and what Jesse James was, and what he meant to people, even after his death. The title is long, but fitting.

Beautiful film that is almost like art to watch. Brad Pitt captures the character of a man tormented, ruthless, and even suicidal, but trapped in a legend bigger than any man can bear. Casey Afflack portrays a man who idolizes Jesse, but who in the end comes to hate him and love him at the same time. Violent, but how can it not be? But the violence fits the era and the storyline. Excellent acting, beautiful cinematography, intriguing story.

This is an unusual movie, especially for a modern-day-filmed western.

Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck are the "stars" of this movie but the biggest star to me was Roger Deakins, the man who photographed this film. Wow, this is beautiful! It's so stunning to look at in so many spots that there were many times I was more involved in the visuals than the story. In that sense, it reminded me of the marvelously-photographed films of Terrence Malick. Kudos to Andrew Dominik for a similar style directorial performance here.

Regarding the story, here's a warning to those who are expecting the normal western fare and want to see the usual amount of gun battles and related action scenes. This film is 2 hour and 40 minutes and there are not many "action" scenes. If you are hoping to see another "3:10 To Yuma" re-make, you will be very disappointed. This story is slow. It's a character study of Jesse James and the man who killed him, Robert Ford.

That said, I still found it a memorable film. The photography, the great acting and the uniqueness of the story were all good enough to keep me interested throughout. For once, I was glad to see James portrayed more realistically. Despite what you've seen on film in the past, this man was not a hero, folks. Sure he was a likable guy at times, and a nice father at times, too, but he was a thief and, much worse, a cold-blooded killer. You see that in this film.

I have to say I can't remember a film I've seen in recent years in which the two lead characters (James and R. Ford) were so strange and unpredictable. For that, I have to really compliment the work of Pitt and Affleck. They were amazing and kept me guessing throughout the movie. They played very complex people.

Overall, once I realized this wasn't a "shoot-em-up" western, and just sat back and appreciated the storytelling, wonderful visuals, low-key narration, fabulous sets, scenery and acting....I ended up being very impressed.